Candidates hoping to unseat U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes focused on health-care reform, marijuana legalization and other issues during a forum Saturday at Burges High School.

Reyes, a Democrat representing the 16th Congressional District, was not at the forum, which was organized by El Paso city Rep. Emma Acosta and senior government students at Burges, who moderated the session.

Reyes had committed to another event, said Luis Torres, Reyes' legislative director who answered questions on his behalf.

Most of the discussion surrounding the Affordable Care Act, the landmark health-care reform Congress approved in 2010, centered on contraception and abortion.

Christian organizations and charities should not have to pay for employee coverage of abortions and contraceptives, Democratic candidate Ben Mendoza said. "It's impeding on their First Amendment rights by denying freedom of religion," said Mendoza, a retiree.

Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke pointed out that health plans sponsored by religious employers are exempt from the requirement to cover contraception.

O'Rourke, a former City Council member, said that the health-care act does good things for El Paso, but that Reyes should have worked harder on it. "We didn't have a representative who spoke out against the low reimbursement rate for Medicare and Medicaid patients," O'Rourke said. "I would have fought for a higher reimbursement rate which brings better health care to El Paso."

Republican candidate Corey Roen said government has no place telling employers they need to cover "abortion pills.

Advertisement

" Roen, a businessman and lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, added that he supports overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, and said that "abortion is murder."

"It's not about health care," Roen said. "It's a big government program that's there to control individuals. The U.S. already had the best medical coverage in the world."

The health-care bill has ideal provisions, which include allowing people to remain on their parents' or guardian's health plan until they are 26, but the low reimbursement rate means El Paso will have a harder time attracting quality doctors, said Democratic candidate Jerome Tilghman.

The legislation was confusing because Congress did not thoroughly examine it, and parts that are unclear should be amended, said Tilghman, an educator and retired Army officer.

Lawmakers were too hasty in passing the bill and it needed more analysis before it passed, Republican candidate Barbara Carrasco said.

The small-business owner said she disagreed with the bill because she said it's causing Medicare programs to go broke, and said Reyes misled people into thinking that the bill would not cover abortions.

Torres said that Reyes' support in passing the Affordable Care Act was a victory for his constituents because one in three El Paso residents does not have health insurance.

"There are issues in the bill, but Reyes was at the table negotiating those issues," Torres said.

An issue that came up several times during the forum was legalization of marijuana, which first arose when O'Rourke entered the race.

O'Rourke as a city representative advocated legalizing marijuana as a way of taking away the financial gains to Mexican drug cartels and undercutting the violence that has claimed thousands of lives.

Reyes has attacked O'Rourke on this issue and has said marijuana legalization is not the solution to the bloody cartel violence.

Mendoza said he does not support marijuana legalization for recreational use, but said he might support it for medicinal use.

Roen, Carrasco and Tilghman said they strongly opposed marijuana legalization.

Widespread use would increase crime, unemployment and school dropouts, Roen said.

O'Rourke has said he doesn't condone marijuana use and would not take up the legalization fight if elected to Congress.

The war on drugs has failed and other options should be considered, O'Rourke said. "People realize after 40 years of failed policies we need to do better," he said. "What is there to be proud of for the job (Reyes) has done in the drug war?"

NEW YORK (AP) — Chrissie Hynde will tell the story of her life, with all its ups and downs. Penguin Random House announced Tuesday that the Pretenders singer was working on an "an incredibly frank" memoir that will come out Sept. Full Story